Burke, VA, December 14, 2015- "The agreement Reached at the Paris climate summit is worse than a failure," said Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, Founder and National Spokesman of The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. "The 'Commitments' made in the Paris agreement are voluntary and unenforceable," Beisner said, "which means most nations will not comply. EU nations said They would make binding Commitments only if all major emitters did-and They Did not. So the EU's 'Commitments' lose all substance. " China and India, the # 1 and # 3 CO2 emitting nations, plan for Their emissions to keep rising at least until 2030 and Reductions even in rate of growth later will depend on Whether They can be made without slowing Their rise out of poverty. Other Developing Countries' "Commitments" are similar. "That's perfectly understandable," Beisner said. "Risks from poverty are far greater than from climate change, so whatever slows economic growth means greater harm than global warming." That thinking is behind the Cornwall Alliance's petition, Forget 'Climate Change', Energy Empowers the Poor. Full compliance with the Paris agreement would cost Hundreds of billions of dollars per year beginning now and rise to $ 1-2 Trillion … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2015
ADF to Texas county: Nativity scenes do not require acceptance of atheist display
By Staff, Alliance Defending Freedom Communications ORANGE, Texas – Alliance Defending Freedom issued a letter to the city manager of Orange and to an Orange County judge Wednesday to explain that, contrary to the arguments of an atheist group, the Constitution does not require the removal of a Christmas Nativity scene in front of city hall and the county courthouse without an accompanying atheist display. “Government officials do not need to give in to the demands of atheist groups that misunderstand or misrepresent the First Amendment and how the courts have applied it to Christmas displays,” said ADF Legal Counsel Jonathan Scruggs. “The courts have been clear that the government can erect Christmas displays, including Nativity scenes, without having to honor demands that atheist displays also be allowed on government property. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has already addressed this exact issue.” The city of Orange has removed its Nativity display, and the county reportedly is considering doing the same, in the wake of the atheist group’s demand. As the ADF letter explains, “City officials simply misspoke when they stated that ‘there is not a clear case that gives affirmative direction to displaying the Nativity … [Read more...]
High School coach suspended for praying files lawsuit
By Todd Starnes, Fox News One coach prayed to God. Another coach chanted to Buddha. But only one got punished — the Christian coach. Joe Kennedy, a beloved assistant football coach in Bremerton, Washington, was suspended on Oct. 28 after he refused to stop his post-game prayers at the 50-yard line. On Tuesday, he filed a discrimination complaint against the school district, claiming the district did not punish the team’s offensive coordinator for conducting Buddhist chants in a similar manner. So if a Buddhist coach can chant near the 50-yard-line, why can’t a Christian coach pray on the 50-yard-line? Liberty Institute, one of the nation’s most prominent religious liberty law firms, plans on getting an answer to that question in a complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Liberty Institute is representing Coach Kennedy in his discrimination complaint. “BSD violated my rights to free exercise of religion and free speech by prohibiting my private religious expression and taking adverse employment action against me on the basis of my religion, notwithstanding my request for a reasonable accommodation that would allow me to practice my sincerely held religious beliefs,” Kennedy wrote in … [Read more...]
Times slams Obama for ignoring Syrian Christian refugees
By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner) – President Obama's indifference to Christian persecution in the Middle East is part of a "scandal of enormous proportions," the editorial staff of theWashington Times has written in a scathing rebuke of the administration. "Expressions of concern by the leaders of the West are few. The fact is that Christians face more persecution, in more countries, than any other religious group," the editorial said before launching into an attack on the president's human rights record with respect to Christian refugees from Syria. Click here to read the rest of the article. … [Read more...]
Christmas just ahead
Good grief! Kentucky school district censors ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
By Staff Alliance Defending Freedom Communications PAINTSVILLE, Ky. – Alliance Defending Freedom sent a letter Dec. 15 to Johnson County Schools to encourage it to ignore a single complaint it received about biblical references in a student play based on the classic Charles Schulz television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” “Schools should not have to think twice about whether they can allow students to perform a classic Christmas production simply because it contains biblical references,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Sharp. “‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ has become an iconic Christmas story and tradition. Are school officials going to start demanding that other classic productions, such as Shakespearean plays, be censored just because they contain religious references?” After receiving the lone complaint from a family at W.R. Castle Elementary School, the district announced its intent to censor all religious references from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and any other Christmas plays at the district’s schools. Parents, students, and cast members have expressed dismay over the decision. “There is no violation of the so-called ‘separation of church and state’ by allowing children to learn about theater and the origins … [Read more...]
Court allows lawsuit of unjustly fired fire chief to go forward against city of Atlanta
By Staff, Alliance Defending Freedom Communications ATLANTA – A federal court ruled Dec. 16 that an Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit filed on behalf of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran will go forward against the city for unjustly firing him because of his religious beliefs. While the court agreed to dismiss some claims, the court is allowing the lawsuit to go forward on Cochran’s primary claims of retaliation, discrimination based on his viewpoint, and the violation of his constitutionally protected freedoms of religion, association, and due process (firing without following proper procedure). At oral arguments in October before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Cochran v. City of Atlanta, ADF argued that the city’s arguments themselves confirm Cochran’s claim that the city fired him for holding and expressing religious beliefs city officials didn’t like. “A religious or ideological test cannot be used to fire a public servant, but the city did exactly that, as the evidence and facts of this case clearly demonstrate,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot, who argued before the court. “We look forward to proceeding with this case because of the injustice against Chief Cochran, … [Read more...]
Louisiana Notables
TO PLACE INFORMATION IN NOTABLES: Please call (318.449.4345), fax (318.445.8328 or email (philip@baptistmessage.com) your church’s event three weeks before the event takes place. Include church’s name, date, time, cost, and pastor’s name. CORRECTION Dick DeBusk is the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, Tullos. In the article in the Dec. 3rd issue of the Message on page two, the church he pastors was not correctly identified. ON THE MOVE Marcelle Ronquille is the new pastor at Bosco Baptist Church, Monroe. Jeff Robinson is the new pastor at First Baptist Church, Hammond. Coy Raiford is the new associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Hammond. Lynn Puryear is the new children’s director at Airline Baptist Church, Bossier City. Robert Trigo is the new associate pastor/nations campus at Woodland Park Baptist Church in Hammond. Michael Stringer is the interim pastor at Life Journey Church in Shreveport. Chad (wife Lori) Hebert is the new Youth Pastor at Little Pass Baptist Church, Charenton. Richard Gambill is the new pastor at First Baptist Church in Bastrop. IN REMEMBERANCE Arnold Norsworthy of Alexandria passed away on Nov. 23 at the age of 82. He was employed with the Louisiana Baptist Convention … [Read more...]
At commencement ceremony, Louisiana College graduates challenged to make difference for Christ
By Philip Timothy, Message Managing Editor PINEVILLE – Long before a student even knew what career they intended to pursue, God had not only determined what that career would be but had also prepared the way to obtain it. Speaking at Louisiana College’s 159th commencement ceremonies Dec. 12, Miranda Klein’s message to the gathering and the graduates was a simple one, “All of us are about to move on and graduate to the most important job in the world not because we chose it but because it was the one prepared by God for us.” In continuing a tradition begun by LC President Rick Brewer at last spring’s commencement, two graduates – Klein and Dallis Coleman – addressed the audience and the graduates. “Even before most of us had an inkling of what we wanted our future to be God knew," said Klein, who is married to LC alumnus Mark Klein, who received his degree in the spring. "There are no sacred or secular jobs, just those prepared for us by the Lord." Coleman, a veteran of the US Air Force and mother of two, talked about her experience in completing LC’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Coleman’s husband is stationed at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport. Louisiana College conferred degrees to 135 graduates at … [Read more...]
In Jefferson Parish, Silent Night does not mean Holy Night
By Mike Johnson These days, the assault on religious liberty never takes a holiday—even at Christmastime. For this reason, every conscientious citizen, and all of us who work to defend our most fundamental freedoms, can’t take a break. In some places, like Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, people of faith will get steamrolled by local officials unless we take a stand. On December 10, my good friends and colleagues at Liberty Institute filed a federal lawsuit against Jefferson Parish on behalf of Vintage Church, after parish officials entered the church, fingerprinted the pastor, and issued a criminal summons against him for the horrific crime of being “too loud.” Apparently, the noise level of 60 decibels—the equivalent of a running dishwasher or a conversation in a restaurant—is just too much to tolerate from a worship service. While parish ordinances single out churches for strict sound limitations, they impose no such restriction on much louder categories of noise like power tools, lawn mowers, and construction activities. This is not the first time Jefferson Parish has wound up in federal court for trampling upon the First Amendment rights of Christians. Back in 2004, I represented a number of other churches in a similar … [Read more...]
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